Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot

The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, now known as the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, was founded as the Schuylkill Arsenal in 1799.

Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania state historical marker
Location	2724 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°54′59″N 75°10′57″W
Architect	Wark and Company, The Ballinger Company
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	09001212[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 26, 2010
Designated PHMC	June 10, 2004[2]

History

The Schuylkill Arsenal was built in 1800 to function as a quartermaster and provide the U.S. military with supplies.[3] One of its most famous tasks was outfitting the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was the third federal facility in the young nation.[4]

The arsenal made clothing and flags for all the military's needs for the next 150 years.[5]

In 1926 the Schuylkill Arsenal was renamed the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. The original site at Grays Ferry Avenue and Washington Avenue was closed and the site was razed in 1963. The functions of the Quartermaster Depot were all moved to West Oregon Avenue & South 22nd Street

In 1965 the operation was reorganized into the Defense Personnel Support Center. In 1993 the government closed the textile factory and moved the remaining part of the South Philadelphia operation to the Naval Support Station in Northeast Philadelphia. It was renamed the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) in 1998,[3][6] and was renamed Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, or DLA Troop Support, in 2010.

The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot consists of eleven extant buildings built between 1939 and 1942. The buildings are of varying heights and sizes, but are consistently clad in tan or brown brick and are in the Art Deco-style.[7]

Placement of this property on the National Register of Historic Places

Philadelphia's application to place the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot on the National Register of Historic Places was reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at its meeting on October 6, 2009, along with applications for: the Hamburg Historic District in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, the Hamnett Historic District in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, the Newville Historic District in Newville, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Office Building in Philadelphia, the Experimental and Safety Research Coal Mines in Allegheny County's South Park Township, and the Cheney Farm, Hopewell Farm, and Chandler Mill Road Bridge in Chester County.[8][9]

The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot was then officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places later in 2010.[1]

See also

• Philadelphia Naval Asylum
• Defense Logistics Agency
• Philadelphia Navy Yard
• United States Army Quartermaster Corps

External links

• QM Museum
• Historic American Buildings Survey documentation:
  • HABS No. PA-1540, "Schuylkill Arsenal, 2620 Gray's Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA", 2 data pages
  • HABS No. PA-1540-A, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 1", 4 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  • HABS No. PA-1540-B, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 1A", 6 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  • HABS No. PA-1540-C, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 2", 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  • HABS No. PA-1540-D, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 2A", 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  • HABS No. PA-1540-E, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 6", 3 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  • HABS No. PA-1540-F, "Schuylkill Arsenal, Building No. 8", 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page

References

1. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 1/25/10 through 1/29/10. National Park Service. 2010-02-05.
2. "Schuylkill Arsenal - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
3. "historical lewis and clark vasco at l3-lewisandclark.com". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
4. Schuylkill Arsenal « THE NECESSITY FOR RUINS
5. "Flag Making at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot". Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
6. Defense Supply Center Philadelphia
7. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Logan McClintic Smith (December 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
8. Franco, Barbara. "Historical and Museum Commission," in Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 39, No. 39, pp. 5681-5682. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, retrieved online September 18, 2019.
9. "National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions," in Federal Register, June 8, 2010, pp. 32502-32503. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved online September 30, 2019.